Pureology - Shampoo & Conditioner samples from Deauty box March 2013

Pureology is an American brand which provides hair products for hair that has been colored.
My hair is dark brown at the moment, but in the past I have had light brown to almost blonde hair :) My natural hair color us actually black.

The March Deauty box contained the 'Hydrate System' shampoo & conditioner. I kind of forgot about it and only started using it a few weeks ago.... LOL

According to the website the shampoo is supposed to cleanse mildly without affecting the hair color. The conditioner will then hydrate, for a soft and shiny result and at the same time protect the color intensity.

My experience with the products:

The consistency is the same as a normal shampoo and conditioner. The shampoo does have a weird, somewhat chemical smell to it. The conditioner on the other hand smells delicious! It has a minty smell and is really refreshing in the shower :)

The shampoo cleanses my hair as normal, no better nor worse than the 'Head&Shoulders' shampoo. I do feel that my hair is a lot smoother with this shampoo and there are less tangles/knots even without using the conditioner.

If I use the shampoo and conditioner together, my hair is incredibly soft and smooth! When I try to tie my hair in a pony tail it just feels different, just feels so much smoother. The color of my hair remained the same, but to really test the color protection I feel that I should use the shampoo over a longer period of time.

I guess soft and smooth is very nice, but it makes it more difficult to braid my hair... because my hair is medium length and just touching my shoulder now... Because the hair is very smooth, the shorter hair keeps sliding out of the braid, if you understand what I mean....

So overall it's a very good shampoo and conditioner and it works as they market it on the website :-)

Essence - Stays No Matter What Eyepencil

Last week (or the week before?) I bought an Essence eyepencil, as I wanted something simple and easy to apply, for my daily eyeliner. Normally I always use gel liner, as this is the only thing that really stays on my eyes (but it takes longer to line my eyes).
In the past I also tried eyepencils or other eyeliners, but they never stayed on my eyes throughout the day :-(
I guess it's just because I have small asian eyes :-p

After an internet search, I bumped into this Essence 'Stays No Matter What' eyepencil. There were some good and some bad reviews. The bad things were mostly that it was hard to apply or that sharpening the pencil was very difficult. But there were also some reviews mentioning that it really stayed and was long lasting.
So eventually I decided to get it and give it a try.

I tried it on the back of my hand and it went on very smoothly. It just glided on! So I was very excited to test whether it was long lasting or not. :-p

The color was black, but not like intense black.... 2 layers will probably give it more color.



And then I used a tissue trying to rub it off... it did fade a lot, but some stayed. Considering the fact that I did rub very hard, I think the eyepencil withstood the test very well! (As I would never rub my eye in that way.)

 

This was all on my hand, so it doesn't really say anything about the use of the product on my eyes,.... I know :-p

I have been using this eyepencil this week and I can honestly say that it's not that bad. Like everything in life, it has some good and some bad things.

At first I had some difficulties applying it on my eyes... The tip was dry and rough making it hard to use. It was almost impossible to line my eyes with it :-(
But after using a tissue, rubbing it a little bit at the tip, it applied on a lot easier. I guess the rubbing removes the dried out part of the pencil and at the same time warms it up a bit.

After a whole day of work my eyeliner still looks very nice (I do use an eyelidprimer). The color isn't quite as dark as in the morning, but it still stayed very long! It didn't smudge or melt all over my eyes, so in some way it is 'staying no matter what'. LOL (except for when I use my make up remover) With make up remover it comes off easy and fast, nothing messy about it.

The one thing that I dislike is sharpening the pencil. It's made from plastic instead of wood, so I have to sharpen the plastic -_-" It's not really difficult but you have to use more power, have a steady hand and at the same time be gentle for the tip (otherwise it will break off).


Well, after all, I do think it's a very good eyepencil (for me). It's finally a pencil that I can use without looking like a panda at the end of the day :-p

xxx

Catrice Eyebrow Filler - Perfecting & Shaping Gel

I have been looking for a good, brown eyebrow gel for quite some time now... I wanted something that wasn't too expensive, as I don't really have a lot of money. :-p
Most of the eyebrow gels are transparent, but I wanted a brown one. I guess I'm just lazy and wanted something easy and fast to do my brows on daily basis.

In the past, I always had to use at least 2 products to do my brows. First I would use an eyebrow pencil and then use a clear brow gel to tame the hairs. Or I would use the e.l.f. eyebrow kit which consists of 2 steps: the wax and the powder.
So either way, each day I had to use (too much) time to do my brows.

Recently I bought the Catrice Eyebrow Filler in Kruidvat. The website mentions that the neutral color will suit everyone....? At first I was doubting to get it or not, because it mentioned 'neutral color'. I have black-brown hair, so I need a dark brown eyebrow color. Eventually I decided to give it a try, as it wasn't too expensive. The catrice website mentions €3,59 which is a reasonable, relatively cheap price.

I think that the packaging is simple and exactly as it should be. The tube has a slight mirror effect which makes it a bit more chique. The brush is just a regular eyebrow brush, nothing special.
The brow gel is brown, not too light and not too dark (will this really work on me???). The consistency is quite good, not too runny but not too thick. It applies on easily and leaves no clumps.

Here a picture of my before and after brows:

 

Before:

 After:

 

In the before picture you can clearly see the seperate hairs and some sparseness in my brows. Also some hairs (at the end of my brow) are a little resistent and don't follow 'the flow'.

After using the Catrice Eyebrow Filler, the brows look more full, smooth and soft. The gel also keeps all the hairs in line without clumps or making it look too wet/'gelled'.

If you want darker brows then just use a few more layers of brow gel, the gel color will go darker as you build it up.

 

I personally really like this eyebrow gel, it's easy and quick to use on daily basis. If I really want more defined and shaped brows, I would still use an eyebrow pencil.

For my daily make up I just follow the natural shape of my eyebrows, so this eyebrow gel is the perfect tool to achieve this. As I don't have a lot time in the morning, this brow gel is a must-use-product for me :-)

 

If you know any good brown brow gels, please let me know below!

 

xxx



Korres Eyeshadow - Athens

My September Deauty box contained a Korres eyeshadow and I just love getting make up in my Deauty box! So here come some pictures:

The eyshadow is about 3x3cm, I think (I forgot to measure exactly). I guess about the normal size for an eyeshadow.

 

The color I received is called 'Athens', number 44S Golden Green.

 

The eyeshadow is soft and smooth. After a swatch I noticed that the color is a lot more gold than green. In the picture above you can clearly see the color difference between the eyeshadow and the swatch.

 

Then I put the eyeshadow on the back of my hand to check the color pay-off. After one stroke it looks very gold.

It's more of a gold color with a soft green undertone, instead of a green with gold flexes... if you know what I mean ;-)

After putting on a second layer it becomes a bit more green. So it's a buildable color, as you build up the color it will become more green.

My general opinion of the product:
I like the texture of the eyeshadow, as it's very soft and applies on smoothly. The color is buildable depending on the intensity that you want.
My first thought was that this color might not suit my skintype, as I have a yellow undertone and most light greens look horrible on me :-( but after swatching the product I think this might actually work on me as it's more of a soft gold. I will definitely be trying this on my eyes!


Do you have any experience with Korres products? Or did you also receive a Korres eyeshadow in your Deauty box? Let me know your thoughts down below!

xxx

L'Occitane en Provence - Lip Balm & Almond Shower Oil

Hello world! I guess I have been a bit MIA, but now I'm back! Today I'll be taking about 2 products from l'Occitane.


The first product is the shea butter lip balm. I got this sample from a friend who works for l'Occitane. The packaging is just simple, plain white with blue letters. Not cheap nor overly chic.

 

As this was a sample there was only about 2 centimeters of lip balm inside the tube. 

 

 

My personal opinion:

I sadly would not purchase this product.... It doesn't go on smoothly, it's all a bit stiff and rough. It's not moisterizing enough (for my lips), I feel that it just sits on top of my lips without really moisterizing.
When I eat or drink there's a strange taste that reminds me of laundry detergent or soap :(



The second product I tried is their Almond Shower Oil, this was in one of my Deauty boxes.

 

 

This was actually a full size product from the Deauty box! **we like full size!** As you can see I have used up most of it, so that means that I do like this product :-)

 

My personal opinion:

The consistency is really like an oil, but it's not sticky or greasy. It's very soft on the skin and washes off nicely in the shower, leaving a soft layer on your skin.

I think that it smells a bit strong at first, but after a rinse of water it smells very nice.

I feel that my skin is moisterized and soft. I like the fact that it's a shower oil, so it's quick and easy to use.

 

I'd love to hear your opinion about these products, so leave a comment below!

 

xxx